Top Fives: My favourite television of 2015

Posted by: Paul Little  •  December 31, 2015 @ 1:02pm

Filed under: Top Fives

It's true -- all lists are subjective. And most of the time, lists (or "listicles") are posted online to garner clicks and create debate. But since ShowbizMonkeys.com isn't about shovelling as much content into your faces as possible, but rather a hub for different writers to talk about the things that interest them, we only post our Top Fives or Top Tens when it's something we really want to talk about.

And I really want to talk about this year in TV.

By my estimation, I watched less television in 2015 than I have in more than a decade. That's not to say there wasn't and isn't amazing storytelling out there (which I'll get to), as many agree we're in the golden age of television. Between basic and premium cable, Netflix, other online channels, and network TV trying to step up their game to compete with the rest, we're seeing some truly groundbreaking stuff. It's just that, as time has passed and I've grown older, I'm a lot more discerning in choosing my entertainment. Even as few as five years ago, I would watch pretty much anything that I was vaguely interested in, even if it wasn't that great. I just wanted to follow the stories and be up on what everyone was talking about. But now, even shows that I'm certain are "great" -- as evidenced by universal critical and public acclaim -- don't always convince me to tune in.

As I said, though, there's lots of fascinating television out there, and below are some of the things that really piqued my interest this past year. Before I get to the list, though, I just have to give honourable mention to a few shows that I didn't get to, but still had me clamouring to get home at the end of a night out straight to my PVR: the debut of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the amazing final run of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the daring The Last Man on Earth, the reliably hilarious Brooklyn Nine-Nine, the non-stop action of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., my all-time favourite Conan (especially his trips to Cuba and Armenia), the best season of Suits to date, the brilliant Silicon Valley, the delightfully silly The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and the surprisingly interesting (but short-lived) procedural Forever.

5. Master of None (Netflix)

4. Survivor: Cambodia – Second Chance (CBS)

3. Last Week Tonight with Jon Oliver (HBO)

2. Marvel's Jessica Jones and Daredevil (Netflix)

1. Mr. Robot (USA)

Tags: Top Fives, Best in TV, Mr. Robot, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Last Week Tonight with Jon Oliver, Survivor, Master of None, Netflix

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Paul Little is the founder and Managing Editor of ShowbizMonkeys.com. When not interviewing his favourite musicians and comedians, he can also be found putting on and promoting music and comedy events with The Purple Room in Winnipeg, or co-producing the live comedy game shows Pants on Fire and The Great Patio Showdown. (@comedygeek)

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